I often speculate about what I would do if I had nine lives like a cat. Years ago my mother predicted that choosing a life path would be difficult because of my many interests. I remember my 18th year as being a time of paralyzing choice.  Robert Frost might have written about two roads diverging in the woods but what if there were far more roads to choose from?  What if one of those roads not taken was really the right choice??

Thankfully sometimes the raod one chooses in life is found more by following pebbles and crumbs than moments of epiphany. Doors open; Others close. Suddenly you find yourself in a place you never would have imagined when you were on the cusp of adulthood. At least that is the story of my life. If one is blessed…and I consider myself such…one finds oneself doing what one loves. And so I find myself in a “sweet” place.

Customers come into our store looking for products. If I had those nine feline lives, one would be spent as a researcher. So I always welcome the opportunity to snoop about online and ravel the mysteries of product sources. I must admit that such searches are not always successful, however, I imagine it is the thrill of the hunt that draws me.

Barry’s Tea is one of my success stories. My search online netted me an email address to the Irish producers of this tea.  I sent off an inquiry on the weekend and was greeted Monday with a personal reply from the folks on the Emerald Isle.  They kindly connected me with a distributor of their teas here in Canada. Within barely a week I was meeting the local sales rep who not only could offer me Barry’s Tea but a whole plethora of new products from the British Isles.

Back to Barry’s Tea.  This family business can boast a history of blending tea for over a century right back to 1901. Their tea is sourced from the Assam Valley of India and the mountain slopes of Kenya. The people on Kinsale Road, in Cork Ireland produce a tea that is described as brisk and refreshing. We are glad to include it in our selection of over 40 teas.